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Enjoy Your Holidays and Stay Safe!

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It’s that busy time of year with increased activities as preparations are made for decorating, gift-giving, and time with family; so take a moment to think how you can enjoy your holidays and stay safe at the same time. Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind.

Fire

Check your smoke alarm before adding electrical decorations. Often lights are added during the holidays, both inside and outside of your home. This can put an added strain on breakers, but especially on outlet strips. Watch that these are not overloaded and be aware of any unusual odors or flickering that may signal an overheated strip of lights.

Keep candles unlit unless there is someone watching them and be sure they are not close to flammable materials.

Children – and adults – love to be close to a fireplace. Use a fire screen and check to see if clothing, especially pajamas, are fire-proofed. Outdoor fire pits can be especially enticing to children; be sure an adult monitors activity around the fire and discourages roughhousing in the area.

During gatherings of family and friends, there may be a number of people in the kitchen, including children. Keep pots on the back burners of the stovetop if possible to avoid burns from accidental bumping or little hands reaching.

Pets

While some pets may love the activity and attention, others may become agitated. Ensure there’s a safe place where your pet can relax and also where the pet will not be tempted to lash out at a child. Dropped food can turn a docile pet into one that will bite to defend its prize.

Trees, lights, ornaments, ribbons, wrapping paper, and food – chocolate and nuts especially – must be out of reach or watched closely so you don’t experience a late night trip to an emergency vet.

Shopping and traffic

This is the time of year when the “traffic is terrific” and can put a damper on trips to the mall or event venues. There is no avoiding it, unless all shopping is done online, but be prepared. If you can shop “off hours” you’ll have fewer issues. Check road conditions before leaving home and find the best route.

When you park, keep all packages in the trunk or other place where they cannot be seen. Always lock doors. When walking to and from a store, keep your eyes open and avoid looking at your phone. Take note of where you park so you can walk directly to your vehicle, keys in hand, when leaving the store or event. If you feel uncomfortable about any people in the parking lot, go back into the store and request an escort.

Hold purses or wallets and don’t leave in shopping baskets, even for a moment. Guard your cards and carefully input your PIN number in a manner that is not visible to others.

Drinking

This time of year is filled with parties and dinners where liquor is served. If you want to celebrate with drinks, there are ways to do it safely. If you have one drink, have it early and eat at the same time. Stay long enough to remove it from your system before driving. Otherwise, ride with a friend or take one of the car services to get home. Many holidays have been ruined because of one too many.

Enjoy your holidays!

These suggestions are common sense and take very little time, but they can save you from a holiday and lifetime of regrets. Enjoy your holidays and stay safe!

Have fun! Make memories! Celebrate!

MD Anderson Stayed Afloat During Floods

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MD Anderson, named the #1 best hospital for cancer-care in the US by U.S. News & World Report, managed to continue care for their patients during the flooding.

Lessons learned

Previous experience with flooded buildings and research facilities taught the staff lessons in maintaining care throughout the duration of the flooding. Floodgates protected the buildings, though the main road leading to the entrance was covered in four feet of water.

Patient care

All 528 patients in the hospital and their families remained safe and were able to continue care. A thousand staff members, including nurses, lab techs, pharmacy techs, food services, and security remained at the hospital as a ‘ride out’ team.

Though the hospital remained safe and dry, 30 to 60 per cent of employees had flooded homes or were evacuated. Even with these personal difficulties, outside teams reviewed files for those who needed urgent care. Their ability to continue care through these circumstances is remarkable.

Although outpatient services and surgeries were canceled initially, they were reinstated as soon as the teams were certain that care could be safely provided.

Services for lung cancer and mesothelioma

Many people, including some of our clients, who are affected by asbestos-related lung cancer or malignant mesothelioma utilize the outstanding services of MD Anderson. The actions of administrators and caregivers at MD Anderson affirm the confidence placed in this institution. Thanks for all those who selflessly persevered by putting patients first – in spite of personal hardships.

Effects of Cosmetics are More than Skin Deep

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In the 16th century, a Swiss physician and philosopher, Paracelsus, stated that any substance applied to or in the body can cause harm, given the right circumstances. In other words, “the dose makes the poison.” This is true especially with the wide range of chemicals, nano particles, asbestos contaminated talc, and other substances used in the manufacture of cosmetics.

Revenue from cosmetics is projected at $265 billion worldwide in 2017 for an industry that has potential for harm, but very little oversight. The FDA has an office of Cosmetics and Colors within their Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Yet, that group is seriously underfunded with a $13 million budget for fiscal year 2017 and has a very limited scope of authority.

Except for color additives, there is no legal requirement for pre-market approval of new products. There is no regulatory group that checks the safety or effectiveness of cosmetic products. In addition, there is no legal requirement for the cosmetic industry to collect or report adverse issues.

What ingredients could be harmful?

Dr. Robert M. Califf, former commissioner of the FDA, along with two other experts said, “For products that are used routinely, small effects over time within large populations can be almost impossible to detect without active surveillance. Even when health risks are substantial, as with tobacco products, the path to identifying and interpreting those safety signals clearly enough to justify regulatory action is often long and tortuous.”

However, that long scientific road has already been traveled with respect to asbestos – still an ingredient in some modern cosmetics. Decades of medical and scientific research long ago reached a consensus that asbestos is a human carcinogen. Yet, a recent investigation revealed asbestos contaminated cosmetics still being sold at a national retail chain that markets to teens. The retailer has since pulled the contaminated product from stores after one third-party found asbestos. A third-party lab hired by the retailer found none – possibly because various batches can contain different constituents. The message is that some asbestos, and other harmful ingredients, can find their way into these non-regulated cosmetics.

More about talc

Talc, a common cosmetics ingredient, is a mineral often mined in close proximity with asbestos and can be contaminated with asbestos. However, due in part to heavy lobbying in the 1970s and 80s, lax regulations allowed asbestos contaminated talc to still be utilized in cosmetics.

Are your cosmetics safe?

If you believe you have been harmed by a cosmetic, report the problem to the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition’s Adverse Event Reporting System (CFSAN) an FDA database for foods, dietary supplements, and cosmetics. When they notice a number of similar reports, they can investigate. This database is also open to the public, so is available to search for adverse health events from your current cosmetics. Unlike foods, there is little ingredient information on cosmetic packaging. Even when there is, dangerous chemicals can be disguised by using scientific names. This makes knowing exactly what you’re using difficult, but there are a few sites such as www.ewg.org with information on a limited number of products.

New legislation

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Susan Collins, R-Maine recently introduced legislation creating a mandatory registration of products and facilities. The bill would also increase FDA funding using industry fees, and give other tools to the FDA as protection from risks of personal care products. Making your congressional representatives aware of your support of this bill could help give consumers visibility to dangers.

Meanwhile, check websites for your cosmetics for possible ingredient lists. If no ingredients are shown, email or call the company for more information. If enough people let these companies know that we care about what is put on our bodies, perhaps there will be more effort to using clean ingredients in their products.

Guidelines Developing to Discourage Driver Distraction Using Mobile Device Apps

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In the past two years, fatalities linked to driver distraction while using smartphones have increased significantly. To limit this distraction, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued voluntary guidelines to app developers. These guidelines could have a driver mode, similar to airplane mode that would modify or block apps and features known to divert attention when driving.

Apple, Samsung, and other device manufacturers are called to develop technology that recognizes a car in motion and also perceives when the driver is using it while driving. Limiting functionality while simplifying interfaces would be a start to curtailing this dangerous, and widespread habit of drivers, young and old.

Anthony Foxx, secretary of the Transportation Department, said, “Your smartphone becomes so many different things that it’s not just a communication device. Distraction is still a problem. Too many people are dying and being injured on our roadways.”

CDC Warns of Dangers in Teen Driving in Night Hours

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It’s true that all drivers are more susceptible to fatal driving accidents in the night hours, but for inexperienced teen drivers, it is especially risky.

Recently we blogged about studies showing the high risk of teens driving with passengers. Night driving is another area of concern for parents with new, young drivers. While it’s true that 49 states and the District of Columbia have night driving restrictions in their Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) systems, in 23 states those hours are between midnight and 5 a.m. The report just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows this does not cover some of the most dangerous hours. Here are a few of the findings of this latest study:

• Most teen night driving is before midnight, meaning the night restrictions have little affect on the night accident rate.

• 31% of U.S. fatal accidents of drivers aged 16-17 during 2009-2014, crashed between 9:00 p.m. – 5:59 a.m.

• Of those accidents, 57% occurred before 12 a.m.!

In Texas, there is a GDL program in place. The requirements for a driver in Phase 2 of the program and between the ages of 16 and 18 include:

• No more than one passenger in the vehicle under the age of 21 who is not a family member

• No driving between midnight and 4:00 a.m. unless the operation of the vehicle is necessary for the fdriver to work, to attend or participate in a school-related activity, or due to a medical emergency.

After six months with no infractions, however, these two restrictions are no longer in force. One rule that remains until 18 prohibits any wireless communication device, including hands-free, except for emergencies.

With motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States, anything that can help curtail accidents is worth pursuing. In Texas, AAA provides a Parent-Teen Driving Agreement that holds both teen and parent to certain standards. Initialed and signed by both parties, it conveys the privilege and responsibility of all parties when they get behind the wheel. Even if you live elsewhere, you can use this agreement as a model for your family.

Bottom line, teen driving is a serious matter – not only for teens, but for the two-thirds of people who are killed by teen drivers when the driver survives. As adults, it is up to us to lead the way in modeling safe, acceptable, and legal driving habits to those teens watching us.

GDL night driving stats

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
– Night driving restriction starting hours varied by day of the week for the District of Columbia, Illinois, and Mississippi; weekend starting hours are presented.
– Long Island does not allow teens with a New York provisional license (junior license) to drive unaccompanied, so there is no need for a night driving restriction.